New Kidney Transplant Policy Could Give Preference to Younger Patients

Share

The United Network for Organ Sharing in the US is mulling new proposals that will change the prevailing organ transplant guidelines.

New Kidney Transplant Policy Could Give Preference to Younger Patients

Advertisement

The new proposals favor younger patients receiving healthier kidneys rather than the current policy where the patients who have waited the longest and are the sickest receive the first preference.

Advertisement

"Right now, if you're 77 years old and you're offered an 18-year-old's kidney, you get it," said Dr. Richard N. Formica, a transplant physician at Yale University and a member of the panel that wrote the proposed policy told the New York Times. He added that the "problem is that you'll die with that kidney still functioning, while a 30-year-old could have gotten that kidney and lived with it to see his kids graduate from college."

The new system could bring the kidney transplant allocation parameters closer to the heart and liver allocation systems The proposals are open to public for comment until April 1, 2011.

Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished.Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

I agree with this change of policy. Younger patients should be prioritized because they have a higher chance of living.ennairam_23 Friday, February 25, 2011

Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.Full Disclaimer